Giving Back

Amy Morris had never heard of Habitat for Humanity when she went to a homeowner’s expo in New York City. She found the organization’s modest booth and took home an application. She sent it in six months later.

Hardly allowing herself to dream that she would be approved, she talked little to friends and co-workers about the application process. Then, she learned where the 12 rowhouses would be built.

“When I heard the name of the street—Hart Street—it felt so right,” she says. “Somehow, I knew.”

Working as an assistant sales manager at Macy’s department store meant it was tough to get Saturdays off to work on her sweat equity hours. So, she used vacation days and worked in the local Habitat office during the week.

The shock she felt when she learned she had been accepted for a house was still with her during JCWP.

“The whole experience is unreal,” she says. “I don’t have the words to thank all these people. I just work alongside them. I wonder why they are volunteering. I don’t know why.”

Within moments, she answers her own question.

“After I get this, I have to volunteer. After you’ve gotten so much, you have to give in return. That’s selfish if you don’t.”


--Pat Curry





Reprinted from Habitat World Magazine, December 2000/January 2001.
This article may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
©2000 Habitat for Humanity International